Fundraising and the Internet
Organisations that want to continue and thrive will be looking to diversify their funding sources and investigate different ways to raise funds. Some organisations may wish to revisit more traditional methods of raising small amounts of money from a lot of people. The internet provides new opportunities for this way of raising funds. Most people who raise funds have little training and it is often not even in their job description. Whatever your experience and skills the web can help you learn to fundraise like a pro. For example, there is general funding advice from NCVO .
Funding Central is a free fundraising website for charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. The site provides access to thousands of funding and finance opportunities, plus a wealth of tools and resources supporting organisations to develop sustainable income strategies appropriate to their needs. If you are completely or relatively new to fundraising, Funding Central provides a guided search enabling you to identify the most appropriate funding and finance opportunities that best suit you and the beneficiaries that you support. If you are an experienced fundraiser, you can drill down through thousands of opportunities to identify the most appropriate funding or finance for your organisation using the advanced search.
While there is no lack of information online about funding that may be available, it isn't always easy to find. The article 'Fundraising and the Internet' and Briefing Paper provided by ICT Champion, Mark Walker, shows how fundraisers can use the internet to achieve their goals, including:
- Improving your fundraising skills;
- Searching for news and information about funding;
- Carrying out research to support your funding applications;
- Raising funds online.
